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Our review of the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27UCWM is now live. This is a Tandem WOLED with true RGB stripe subpixel layout. This is the first gaming-oriented OLED I’ve used without any fringing issues at all related to subpixel structure, which when combined with the tight pixel density and glossy screen surface provides exceptional clarity to text and fine edges. The usual strong OLED contrast performance was observed, complemented by the ‘TrueBlack Glossy’ screen surface. This is more reflective than QD-OLED offerings but doesn’t ‘lighten up’ in brighter lighting. The monitor was well-tuned in many respects and offered the usual fully flexible sRGB (and DCI-P3) emulation ASUS is known for. Colour gamut was similar to other (non-Tandem) WOLEDs, whilst dark uniformity (‘DSE’ or ‘Dirty Screen Effect’) was significantly better than I’d usually see. It provided a ‘high brightness’ HDR experience (via ‘Console HDR’ at full brightness) which was in-line with typical QD-OLEDs for peak brightness, but without medium shade dimming in bright scenes. In fact the high APL (Average Picture Level) representation was surprisingly accurate and similar to DisplayHDR True Black 400 using this setting. It brightened up dark-dominant (lower APL) scenes with its high brightness configuration, although not to an extreme degree. It was also free from the colour volume issues of traditional WOLED, ridding itself of that white subpixel white which provides the brightness for most WOLEDs and drowns out the colour-filtered light.

Responsiveness was also very strong, as usual, including low input lag and rapid pixel responses. ‘VRR flicker’ was my only real complaint and the ‘anti-flicker’ setting was very aggressive with many ‘dead zones’ where VRR deactivates. This constant activation and deactivation of VRR using the ‘anti-flicker’ setting is annoying, so it’s not something most will want to use. The 480Hz FHD ‘Frame Rate Boost’ feature provided excellent fluidity, but had the familiar ‘less sharp integer scaling’ (interlaced) appearance I’ve seen on other ‘Dual Mode’ monitors using their lower frame rate higher refresh rate modes. Personally I see this setting as ‘nice to have’ for some users who favour fluid competitive play at the highest possible frame and refresh rates over image quality. I wouldn’t buy the monitor just for this feature, but rather for its strong ‘4K’ UHD performance.

Many people will be wondering whether this is a “better” option than QD-OLED alternatives like the ASUS ROG Strix XG27UCDMG (or ROG Swift variant of that, the PG27UCDM). Both are good routes which will provide an enjoyable OLED experience. The QD-OLED variants have a slightly wider gamut, providing a bit of extra vibrancy and saturation potential for some green, blue and cyan shades. They’re also essentially free from ‘DSE’ and are free from any colour temperature shifts even when viewing bright shades off angle. The PG27UCWM is still very vibrant, though, and has much less ‘DSE’ than I’ve seen on any WOLED before. I’ve used ‘TrueBlack Glossy’ models quite a bit over the past year or so and I have to say they’ve grown on me. I’ve become more used to the extra reflectivity, whilst the lack of ‘brightening up’ is very noticeable in bright or even moderately bright conditions compared to QD-OLEDs. The latest QD-OLED panels with ‘QuantumBlack’ finish close the gap slightly (but by no means completely) in this respect.

Given this ‘traditional’ glossy screen surface, generally better HDR EOTF tracking or brightness calibration (and Dolby Vision support, a nice addition for movie watching if you don’t want high brightness HDR), ‘Frame Rate Boost’ functionality and a complete lack of fringing I feel this new model edges out the competing QD-OLEDs a bit overall. If you have a powerful GPU and frame rates are usually pretty stable, you might find the VRR flicker less noticeable on the WOLED side as well (QD-OLED flicker more for small refresh rate fluctuations, but less for large ones). Either way, don’t expect a ‘night and day’ difference in overall performance but do expect to have a lot of fun using models with either panel technology.

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